Ethan Stowell’s Goldfinch Tavern Wows with its View and Food
Ethan Stowell sets his sights on taking downtown hotel dining to new heights
By Seattle Mag September 16, 2015
This article originally appeared in the October 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.
Inside the Four Seasons hotel, Ethan Stowell’s newest restaurant, Goldfinch Tavern, benefits from what may be the greatest waterfront view in downtown Seattle. Floor-to-ceiling windows enlarge Elliott Bay, the Great Wheel and the Olympic Mountains to appear so close they could roll off the water and join your table for dinner. The view is an up close and personal experience.
The aesthetic matches. Textures that recall ship timbers make up much of the interior, with tones of blue, amber and charcoal. A massive rectangular bar, topped with quartzite and bound by coppery steel pipes, anchors the 183-seat dining room, which is now all one space rather than the previous layout in which the old lounge led to a traditional table dining area. Request a leather banquette by the windows and you can admire everything, including thick felt dangling like planks to absorb the sound from your neighbors.
Stowell and executive chef Joe Ritchie (formerly of Mkt.) have developed a strong seafood program to match the maritime vibe. You could certainly stop in for the popular beef tartare ($15) or shareable Goldfinch burger ($17), but I would rather set sail on an inspired seafood journey, starting with the hamachi crudo ($17), fresh, tender dominoes of yellowtail dressed with oily Taggiasca olives, pickled red onion and dots of chèvre. These dishes, in particular, are reminiscent of Stowell’s overall commitment to seafood. In other words, you can find similar dishes at Anchovies & Olives and How to Cook a Wolf. But the Four Seasons service and, again, that view punch up the experience a bit.
The beet salad ($15) is an item Stowell promises to keep on the menu, and you’ll want to tuck into its feathery chunks of sweet Dungeness crab and creamy, tarragon-tinged dressing. When he’s not working, Ritchie nurtures a rooftop garden of 50 herbs at his home in West Seattle, a reminder of his early days with Jerry Traunfeld both at Poppy and The Herbfarm. I love the way he uses fresh dill or rosemary to brighten french fries.
